Reversible seat for tram-cars and other purposes.



J. E. ANGER REVERSIBLE SEAT FOR TRAM CARS AND OTHER PURPOSES.

- APPLICATION FILED OCT. 28, 1913.

1,140,097. Patented May18, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET I- THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. PHOTG-LlTHO-, WASHINGTDN, D. C,

J. E ANGER. REVERSIBLE SEAT FOR TRAM CARS AND OTHER PURPOSES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 28', I913. 1,140,097. Patented May18, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

u I 1L I 4 mm mm 1 2 THE NORRIS Hnl=0 LUUFHOTOILITHO-I WASHINGTON, I. \L

UTED SAT JOHN EDWARD ANGER, 0F PRESTON, ENGLAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 28, 1913. Serial No. 797,814.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'I, JOHN EDWARD ANGER, a citizen of the United residing at Preston, in the county of Lancaster, in the Kingdom of England; have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reversible Seats for Tram-Cars and other Purposes, of which the following is a specification. V

This invention relates to seats of tramcars, omnibuses, railway carriages, ships decks, parks, gardens and other purposes, in which are employed a seat member a, reversible back capable of being swung over from one edge of the said seat member to the other, and mechanism intermediate between such seat member and seat .back, whereby the reversal of the seat back simultaneously moves or tilts the seat in such manner that whichever way the seat back is swung over, the seat member as well as the back will have a convenient slope for the sitter.

The invention is of the type in which rockers carrying the seat member have cut away portions at and about mid-length of the under side, and inclined under faces at their ends which co-act with sills having in clined upper faces extending between the side frames so that upon the movement of the said rockers in either direction, said rockers and the seat member carried thereby, will be both moved forward and canted. The seat back is of thetype having depending arms at the edges, to which are pivoted the upper ends of substantially parallel links, the lower ends whereof are so arranged as to operate the rockers upon the reversal of the back from one position to the other. Hitherto in some car seats, this has been effected by causing the swinging over of the back to turn cross shafts to which are secured cams co-acting with downwardly depending ears at each end of the cut away portion of the rockers. In my invention however I secure the desired result, by providing in the cutaway part of the rockers between the inclined under faces, a toothed rack while one or both of the cross shafts which support the seat back through the substantially parallel links, are provided with pinions co-acting with the rack to operate the rocker when the seat back is swung over in either direction. It is to be understood however that in some car seats as States of America,

hereinbefore constructed, racks and pinions have been proposed, but these were not in connection with seats of'the type referred to, in which the seat back is supported solelyby substantially parallel links the lower ends of which are pivoted to the side frames and in which the rockers for the seat member have inclined underfaces at their ends co-acting with the per faces. For instance gears have been pro posed working with a mangle rack device on the seat, or gearing with a or by levers driving a crank shaft engaging notches or the like on the seat, but in none of these was the seat back of th'e type that is supported in the side frames by substan tially parallel or twin links, or in which the rockers were of the kind hereinbefore re ferredto.

'The invention will be understood from the following descriptiomreference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which 2- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a complete seat made in accordance with my in-' vention, but with the seat proper removed; Fig. 2 is aside view ofthe tilting mechanism; and Fig. 3, a plan view thereof; Fig.

Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the

seat is supported ,on

Patented Ma is, 1915..

quadrant thereon,

sills having inclined up- 4 is a side view of the seat embodying a slight modification; and Fig. 5, a plan view.

these rockers atone end being mounted in guides 2 fixed to one sill 3 of the seat frame or base; while the rockers at the other end are also mounted in guides 4 on the other sill 5. The seat is detachably mounted on the rockers, projections 6 (preferably angular in cross section) on the rockers entering the corners of the seat member, so as to hold the seat in position, and insure the seat moving with the rockers. In the known type of reversible seat with lugs or pins engaging holes, it is often diflicult to find the holes and make the pins engage therein, but with my arrangement the seat is removed or replaced in an instant.

The end portions of these rockers 1 have inclines 7, 8, so that by sliding the rockers one way in the direction of their length, the

' to the other.

plane surfaces, or are curved so as to have a suitable convexity. Between the inclines, each rocker 1 is formed with a toothed rack 9 for the purpose to be mentioned presently, the curve of the rack 9 and the curve of the inclines 7 and 8 being struck from the same or about the same center.

The seat back 10 is carried by levers 11, 12, secured to spindles 13, 14, journaled in bearings beneath the seat. The levers 11 that project from one of these spindles 13 are pivoted at their upper ends to'the seat back at 15, and the levers 12 that project from the other spindle 14, are pivoted at their upper end to the seat back at another point 16, the pivoting being such that the levers hold the back at a convenient slope for the sitter, with the levers (for the time being underneath) supported by rests 17. The back is reversed by being swung over, so as to bring the other levers on to the opposite rests 18, and this reverses the slope of the seat back, and causes it to take up an exactly converse position to that which it occupied before. The swinging over of the seat back turns the spindles 13, 14 part of a revolution, and this by means of toothed segments 19 keyed to one of the spindles 14, gearing into toothed segments 20 freely mounted on the other spindle 13, and which in turn gear with the toothed racks 9 on the rockers 1, slide the said rockers in the direction of their length, so that the inclines at one end slide down their guides, and the inclines at the other end ride up the other guides, and thus tilt the seat to the required inclination. Instead of toothed segments, toothed pinions may be used, and the loose pinion or segment 20 is wide enough to mesh both with the rack 9 and with the fast segment or pinion 19. In use therefore all the sitter has to do to reverse, is to throw the seat back over from one side This not only turns the back 10 to the opposite side of the seat, and reverses the slope of the back, but also reverses the slope of the seat itself, so that whichever way the back is turned, it has a convenient slope for the sitter to sit on. When the back 10 is thrown over 6'. g. to the right, the seat is thrown over to the left, so as to move the latter on the sills to change the slope of the seat, and vice versa when the back is thrown over to the left.

The toothed rack 9 on each rocker is preferably curved, to allow for the tilting of the rockers, and the rack is ofi-set from the inclines 7, 8 at the ends. The guides 2, 4 which are secured to the sills of the seat frame are formed with slots or channels in them to prevent the rockers from lifting, and so keep the toothed racks in gear with the toothed segments 20, which as hereinbefore mentioned are mounted freely on the spindle 13, and are kept in position by washers and split pms 21 or any other suitable arrangement. To disconnect the parts, all that is necessary is to lift the seat off the rockers 1, then remove the split pins 21 so that the toothed segments 20 that are mounted freely on their spindle 13, can be slid clear of the racks 9 and the fast segments 19. This frees the rockers, and enables them to be completely removed or separated from their guides 2, 4. This ease of disconnection is a very great advantage, as it admits of repairs or re-placement being effected with the last possible difiiculty; The upper ends of the levers 11 and 12, are preferably pivoted to the respective arms of a bifurcated bracket 22 to the seat back 10L If desired the inclines may be arranged to slope the reverse way, namely, toward mid-length of therockers, instead of toward the" ends of the rockers as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. These inclines sloping the reverse way'are'shown' at 24,25 in Figs-4 and 5, and in this construction the throwing over of the baa-{"10 toward the left must be'arrang ed to throw the rockers" 1 and seat 23 over toward the left likewise, and vice versa when the back is thrown over to the right, so as to tilt the seat to the required inclination. This necessitates the pinion 19 beingomitted, and the pinion 20 which gears with the rack keyed on to the spindle 13, the spindle 14 being without any pinion, but forming as before a center about which the levers 12 turn; In this case the inclines 24 25 are curved to have a suitable concavity and the racks 261 are similarly curved. In other respects the arrangement is substantially the same" as that illustrated in Figs. 13, and the like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts.

' I declare that what I claim is 2- 1. In' a reversible seat of the type referred to, the combination with the rockers that support the seat member having toothed racks intermediate their ends the cross shafts which support the seat back through substantially parallel links, guides for preventin'g' lateral displacement of the rockers of pinions or toothed segments made slidable on the said shafts so as to clear the racks on the rockers when required, and enable the rockers to he slid lengthwise clear of the guides.

2. In a reversible seat of the type referred to, the combination with the rockers for supporting the seat member having cut-away portions intermediate their ends and inclined under faces at their ends resting upon inclined upper faces of the sills, guides secured to said sills for preventing the lateral displacement of the rockers of toothed racks in the cut away space between the said inclines, cross shafts for supporting the seat back through substantially parallel links fixedly secured to the shafts, and pinions or toothed segments on the shafts which co-act with the racks to operate the rockers when Inwitness Whereof,I have hereunto signed the seat back is swung over in either direcmy name this 14 day of Oct. 1913, in the tion, said pinions or toothed segments being presence of two subscribing Witnesses. slidable on the shafts so as to clear the racks JOHN EDWARD ANGER. on the rockers when required and enable the Witnesses:

rockers to be slid lengthwise clear of the G. C. DYMOND,

guides. R. W. WILBANNS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Wuhington, D. 0. 

